Mac Morgan (June
25, 1917 – June 12, 2007) was an American bass-baritone who had an
active performance career in concerts and operas from the
early 1940s until the mid-1970s. The Boston
Globe described him as a singer "known for his rich tone
and enviable diction". After retiring from the stage, he embarked on a
second successful career as a voice teacher. Born
in Texarkana, Texas, Morgan moved with his family
to Jacksonville, Florida at the age of
9. His father was a lease-inspector for federal buildings. His family attended
the Main Street Baptist Church in Jacksonville, and it was there that he had
his earliest singing experiences, both as a choir member and soloist.
While in middle school he began playing the trombone,
and at the age of 16 he began taking voice lessons. After finishing high school
in Jackson, he entered the Eastman School of Music in 1936 on
the advice of noted baritone John Charles Thomas. He graduated with a Bachelor of
Music degree from Eastman in 1940. His voice teacher at
Eastman, Arthur Craft, arranged for him to practice with the accompanist Helen
Neilly. Neilly and Morgan married in 1941, and remained married until Morgan's
death 66 years later. The couple had three daughters together. After his
marriage, Morgan moved with his wife to New York City where he was soon signed
with a talent manager. While performing on his first concert tour in 1942, he
was drafted into the United States Army . He spent the next 31⁄2 years
in military service during World War II in
the South Pacific and Australia. He spent the majority of his time in the army
working in the latter country as a full-time singer; performing in major cities
throughout the continent. After returning to the United States
on January 8, 1946, Morgan resided with his family in Darien, Connecticut. In 1946 he began
performing regularly on the New York City radio station WQXR with
the Paul Lavalle Orchestra.He then was offered
his own weekly show by NBC Radio, Highways in Melody,
with Lavalle serving as music director and his orchestra accompanying. He
commuted into NYC for performances on the show every Friday night at 8:00 at
the pay of $130 a week. He also toured with the program for performances
in Cleveland, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia among other American
cities. In 1948 he performed selections from Jules
Massenet's Hérodiade and Victor Herbert's Eileen with
soprano Vivian Della Chiesa and Lavalle conducting
the New York Philharmonic. In
the early 1950s Morgan and his family moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and there he
befriended the artist Norman
Rockwell who did a charcoal drawing of Morgan which the singer
used in publicity material. After moving to Massachusetts, he became a regular
performer with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. With the BSO he
performed under conductor Leonard
Bernstein on several occasions, including 1955 performances
of Ludwig van Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and
Beethoven's Fidelio (as Rocco). Other engagements with major
symphony orchestras soon followed, including performances with conductors Charles Munch, Erich
Leinsdorf, and Seiji Ozawa.
He was also frequently heard at the Tanglewood Music Festival, making his
debut there in 1950 as Don Anchise in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's La finta giardiniera with Ray Smolover as
Count Belfiore, Julian Patrick as Roberto, Marni Nixon as
Serpetta, and Sarah Caldwell conducting. In
1951 Morgan sang two roles with the New York City Opera: Pantalone in The Love for Three Oranges and
Silvio in Pagliacci. Also that year he sang the role of Leperello in
Mozart's Don Giovanni with Boris
Goldovsky's New England Opera Theater. He was
heard in succeeding years with that company as Figaro in The Barber of Seville (1952–1954),
Podesta (1953), the title role in Don Pasquale (1955),
and Guglielmo in Così fan
tutte (1956). He sang the role of Sharpless in Giacomo
Puccini's Madama
Butterfly with the Opera Guild of Greater Miami in 1953
with Licia Albanese in the title role.
John Maynard La Montaine, also later LaMontaine, (March 17, 1920 – April 29, 2013)[1] was an American pianist and composer, born in Oak Park, Illinois, who won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Music] for his Piano Concerto No. 1 "In Time of War" (1958), which was premiered by Jorge Bolet. His teachers included Howard Hanson, Bernard Rogers, and Nadia Boulanger. His works have been performed by Leontyne Price, Jessye Norman, Adele Addison, Donald Graham, Eleanor Steber and Jorge Bolet. In honor of the American Bicentennial celebration in 1976, he was commissioned to create a choral work for the Penn State Institute for Arts and Humanistic Studies. The opera, entitled Be Glad Then America, was performed by the University Choirs, under the direction of Sarah Caldwell. The folk singer Odetta appeared as the Muse for America. La Montaine lived in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. His publishing company, Fredonia Press is named for the street on which he lived. His business partner was the composer and pianist Paul J. Sifler (1911–2001).